Reason for downtown shooting
still unclear

A Kailua-Kona man charged with firing off several guns in Kailua Village pulled the trigger 28 times, according to a shell casings count presented by police in court Tuesday. Hawaii County Police Officer Coley Rowe described how he and several other officers moved in on Robinson once the man dove out of his vehicle onto the ground.

“I was sitting on his back after we had effected an arrest,” Rowe testified. “I looked in the car when he said he’d killed his kids and they were in the back seat. I looked in the back and saw a large revolver and a rifle. I didn’t see any kids.”

Police also found bullet holes in the floor, ceiling and bathroom door of the Kakahiaka Street apartment of Raymond Lee Robinson, 39, who sat through a preliminary hearing on charges of first degree terroristic threatening, first degree reckless endangering, second degree reckless endangering, reckless driving, criminal property damage and five firearms charges. Police apprehended Robinson in the parking lot of King Kamehameha’s Kona Beach Hotel on April 5.

“He was screaming out the window (of a car), ‘anyone who approaches me is going to die,’” Rowe recounted. “I heard him say he was going to kill everyone in the parking lot. He said we needed to move the cars.”

At a previous hearing, resort security guard Justin Tripp described Robinson speeding out of the parking lot in a red Camaro, then returning to the parking lot, swinging his car sideways and opening fire into the air.

Police recovered two .357-caliber handguns from the front passenger seat of the Camaro and 25 spent casings from the area, Sgt. Scott Kurashige said. A .30-30 Winchester rifle was in the back and police recovered three spent rifle casings from the parking lot, according to testimony.

One handgun had a six-round capacity, the other held seven rounds. Police also recovered a 9 mm handgun and eight shell casings at Robinson’s damaged apartment.

After the arrest, Kurashige asked Robinson what had sparked the incident.